Final, Bruins 5-2: The Bruins rookies get the season off on the right foot with a sound 5-2 win over the Islanders in the first of two rookie games to be held at the Garden.
Jordan Caron was the hero as he collected three of the goals, but there were plenty of standouts in Black and Gold in this one.
Now they get to try to do it all over again on Thursday night in the rematch.
Third period, 19:22, Bruins 5-2: Jordan Caron ices the win for the B's with an unassisted empty-netter to complete the hat trick in a memorable Boston debut for the 2009 first-round pick.
Third period, 18:50, Bruins 4-2: Almost another fight as New York's Kirill Kabanov wants to go with Donald, but Donald decides discretion is the better part of valor this time around and stays down. No penalties called as Kabanov skates back to the bench sans stick
Third period, 15:18, Bruins 4-2: Another scrap goes down, as Matt Delahey of the B's squares off with Tony DeHart inside the Islanders blue line in a quick bout.
Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski off for holding at 15:35 just after the bout.
Third period, 11:29, Bruins 4-2: The Bruins get some payback on the scoreboard as Caron scores his second of the night on the power play.
Seguin picks up another assist and Arniel also gets a helper as Boston extends its lead back to two goals.
Third period, 10:07, Bruins 3-2: Ugly scene on the ice as Colborne is left bloody mess after an elbow by Dibenedetto just inside the Islanders blue line.
Dibenedetto had been jawing with the B's after the last fight. He got his revenge, but he also got a five-minute major for elbowing an a game misconduct, while Colborne was helped off the ice bleeding badly from the cheap shot. Things could get interesting in these final 10 minutes.
Third period, 7:44, Bruins 3-2: Fight No. 3 on the night goes down, as Tyler Randell wrestles with Neiderreiter in front of the benches.
Not much happening in this one, as Niederreiter didn't seem to want to drop the gloves and not much was landed in the scrap. New York's Dibenedetto was chirping at Randell and the B's bench after the bout.
Third period, 7:44, Bruins 3-2: And now it's a one-goal game.
Justin Taylor, Knight's junior teammate in London (OHL), begins the play by stealing the puck from Alexandrov at the Bruins blue line, then driving down the right wing and centering it to Robin Figren, who tips it home from the top of the crease.
Third period, 5:29, Bruins 3-1: Seguin shows a glimpse of his skill as he breaks down the middle, drops a pass back to Arniel on the right, then cuts to the front of the net. But Arniel can't connect on the return pass down to Seguin.
Third period, 4:18, Bruins 3-1: MacDermid continues his surprising offensive game with a short-handed bid down the left wing. That was the best scoring chance on the Islanders' power play, as the Bruins kill off another penalty.
Third period, 2:32, Bruins 3-1: Bruins back on the penalty kill as Sauve is called for tripping. Big kill here for the Bruins as they try to hold on to the two-goal lead.
Jack Edwards has also just announced the crowd tonight at a robust 11,571. Quite a turnout for a rookie game.
Third period, 0:55, Bruins 3-1: The action is under way in the third and the Bruins are staying on the attack.
Jared Knight continues to show some nifty moves as he nearly scored on a pair of in-close backhanders at the left post. He was denied there, then fanned on a one-timer in front later in the shift.
End second period, Bruins 3-1: That does it for the first 40 minutes.
While the opening period was solid, the clubs really ramped up the entertainment quotient in the second with four goals and a pair of scraps.
Great energy from the youngsters in this one, as they seem to be feeding off a great vibe in the building. The lower bowl is pretty much full and there's now a sprinkling of fans in the upper deck as well.
Not sure what drew the biggest cheers from those fans so far, the fights or Seguin being announced for his first point after assisting on the third goal. It was probably Seguin, but it might have been different if the Bruins were winning the bouts instead of the Islanders.
Another 20 minutes to go in this one. If the first two periods are any indication, it should be a fun final frame as the Bruins try to close out the win.
Second period, 17:38, Bruins 3-1: Spoke too soon, as Lane MacDermid gives Boston back its two-goal cushion.
Nice play by the tough guy as he barreled down the left slot and picked the far corner with a beautiful shot off the inside of the post.
Seguin picks up his first point as a Bruins with the lone assist on the play.
Second period, 16:19, Bruins 2-1: Things have settled down a bit after that flurry of goals and fights, but the B's did have a good chance there as Arniel broke down the left wing and tried to get it over to Plekaitis in the middle, but couldn't.
Second period, 11:51, Bruins 2-1: The Islanders answer back to make it 2-1 as Nino Niederreiter tips one home from the right crease.
The play started with a clean face-off win by the Islanders Ullstrom in the right circle back to Hamonic at the near point. His blast was tipped in front by Niederreiter.
The Bruins are going back on the power play as Ullstrom was called for charging just nine seconds after the goal.
Second period, 9:26, Bruins 2-0: Now there is some more scoring to talk about, as the Bruins make it 2-0 on a Max Sauve goal.
Tyler Randell started the play with a drive down the left wing. His shot from the left circle was stopped, but Sauve cleaned up the rebound from the top of the crease to double the Bruins lead.
Second period, 7:49, Bruins 1-0: There hasn't been any more scoring, but there is a scoring chance. Credit Colborne with the secondary assist on the Bruins goal now instead of Button.
It's been a good night for Colborne so far, who deserves a point for his strong all-around play.
Also a tip of the hat to Joe Plekaitis, who just threw a pair of huge hits in the left corner of the Islanders zone on the same shift. Nice fore-checking pressure for the youngster trying to make his mark in camp.
Second period, 5:04, Bruins 1-0: The rough stuff continues with a big-time bout between Ryan Donald and Alex O'Neil.
B's defenseman Donald took the worst of this one in a one-sided beating. O'Neil landed a slew of hard uppercuts, sending Donald to a knee early. To his credit, he showed some courage to come back and throw a few of his own, but O'Neil ended the bout with another flurry of rights to drop Donald. Five each for fighting, with Donald off to the room for repairs.
Just before that, New York's Justin Dibenedetto leveled Caron in the crease and Colborne jumped in to defend his linemate. No penalties out of that scrum, but good to see Colborne get involved.
Second period, 2:52, Bruins 1-0: Just moments after the first goal, we get our first fight, as Antoine Roussel tangles with Travis Hamonic.
Hamonic finished his hit on Roussel in the corner and dropped the gloves first, landing an uppercut or two. Roussel then scored the takedown and threw a few punches while on the ice. Five minutes each for fighting.
Second period, 1:01, Bruins 1-0: And we have our first goal of the season, with the Bruins jumping out to the lead on a Jordan Caron tip in front.
With the squads skating 4-on-4, Caron planted himself in front of the net and deflected a point shot from the center of the blue line by Matt Delahey. Ryan Button collected the second assist.
End first period, 0-0: That will do it for the first 20 minutes, with the game still scoreless.
Not a bad way to start things off for the rookies. The Bruins would like to see some production from their power play, but their last chance, not counting the abbreviated opportunity in the final minute, showed some improvement and created some solid scoring chances.
The Bruins could stand to stay out of the box a bit more themselves as well, though it seems that it's preseason for the officials as well as things have been being called very tight so far in this one. Hopefully Koharski will let the boys play a bit more as the game goes on and we'll see some more 5-on-5 action.
Besides the penalties, this one has been an entertaining one so far. Plenty of energy as you would expect from the youngsters. Decent amount of hitting so far, but neither team has been able to get on the board.
First period, 19:55, 0-0: That power play didn't last long, as Seguin gets called for interference after leveling an Islander in the neutral zone.
The first period ends with the game tied 0-0 and the Bruins holding a 15-9 edge in shots. They'll begin the second period playing 4-on-4.
First period, 19:40: Another power play for the B's, with Ullstrom off for hooking.
That came after both teams nearly scored, as Casey Cizikas hit the post for the Isles and Sauve made a great move around a defender to break in alone for the B's.
First period, 18:14, 0-0: The Bruins are now 0 for 3 on the power play, but this last chance was a much better effort.
Good possession time in the Isles zone and Kampfer, who's wearing the C in this game, pinched in from the point and was robbed on a bid from the left slot.
First period, 15:53, 0-0: The Bruins get another shot on the power play with Rakhshani off for hooking.
That followed a great shift by Knight, who was throwing his weight around with abandon and landed a couple solid hits.
First period, 13:18, 0-0: The Bruins nearly get on the board as Arniel hits the near left post with a backhander from the crease.
That bid came not long after Colborne made a nice play hustling back on defense, stealing the puck from Niederreter inside the Bruins blue line. That's the kind of hustle and two-way play Colborne will need to show if he wants to challenge for a spot with the big club later in camp.
First period, 11:00, 0-0: Courchaine is tested for the first time, and is up to the task in the Bruins goal. He flashed the pad out to stop Kirill Kabanov's bid from the left circle, then snared the rebound from the slot with his glove.
Max Sauve gets into a shoving match after the whistle. Nice to see a feisty side to the skilled Sauve's game.
First period, 8:32, 0-0: The penalty parade continues with New York's Robin Figren off for hooking.
There's only one ref in this one, unlike the usual two-ref system in regular NHL games, but Terry Koharski is making up for that with plenty of calls.
First period, 6:08, 0-0: After the Bruins failed to convert their power-play chance, the Islanders will get one of their own as Alexandrov is sent ff for tripping. Donald got into a shoving match with Niederreiter after the whistle, but the Islanders star forward wanted nothing to do with the big Bruin blueliner.
Lane MacDermid, Boston's other tough guy, starts off on the penalty kill with Arniel. Interesting to see what MacDermid can bring to the table in other situations beyond supplying some toughness.
First period, 2:52, 0-0: The Bruins get the first power-play chance of the night as New York's Alex O'Neil is sent off for cross-checking. Seguin leads the first power-play unit with Arniel, Caron, Button and Bartkowski.
First period, 1:30, 0-0: The Bruins get the first big hit of the season as Tyler Randell levels Tony Romano just inside the Bruins blue line.
First period, 0:00, 0-0: Seguin takes the opening draw and hockey is under way once again.
6:59 p.m.: There's no TV for this game tonight, but you can't keep Jack Edwards away from a Bruins game, not even a rookie tilt.
The NESN play-by-play virtuoso is handling the PA duties at the Garden for this one.
Edwards has just announced the starting lineups. No surprise that the Seguin line gets the nod for the B's with Arniel and Knight on his wings. Button and Bartkowski will start on defense, with Courchaine in goal.
For the Isles, they're big guns also get the start, with Nino Niederreiter with David Ullstrom and Rhett Rakhshani up front, Calvin de Haan and Travis Hamonic on defense and Mikko Koskinen in goal.
And with that, we're off.
6:47 p.m.: The pre-game warm-ups are complete and action will be under way in just under 15 minutes as the Bruins rookies are set to drop the puck on a new season of hockey action.
The crowd is still just filtering in. The upper sections are empty, but the bottom tier is starting to fill up. Should be a decent gathering by the time the game starts.
Here's how the Boston youngsters lined up in the pre-game skate.
Forward Lines:
Jamie Arniel-Tyler Seguin-Jared Knight
Lane MacDermid-Joe Colborne-Jordan Caron
Tyler Randell-Ryan Spooner-Max Sauve
Joe Plekaitis-Craig Cunningham-Antoine Roussel
Defense Pairs:
Matt Delahey-Steve Kampfer
Matt Bartkowski-Ryan Button
Yury Alexandrov-Ryan Donald
Goalies:
Adam Courchaine
Matt Dalton
6:29 p.m.: The teams have taken the ice for warm-ups.
As expected, Alain Goulet is not out there on defense for the Bruins, while the other scratches appear to be forwards Yannick Riendeau and Walker Wintoneak and goalie Michel Hutchinson.
For New York, David Toews, who was on the Islanders' initial rookie roster earlier this summer, is not with the team for this game.
Full line combinations to come shortly.
3:34 p.m.: When the Bruins rookies take on the Islanders Wednesday night in the first of two games at the Garden, all eyes will be on Tyler Seguin in his Boston debut.
And the Bruins' youngsters are eager to play before the large crowd expected to be on hand after their first spin on the Garden ice for the pre-game skate Wednesday morning.
The Bruins also boast plenty of other highly-regarded prospects for the Garden faithful to monitor, with the likes of Joe Colborne, Jordan Caron, Jared Knight, Ryan Spooner, Ryan Button and Yury Alexandrov on the rookie roster.
But there are also some Islanders worthy of some attention as well.
Nino Niederreiter is New York's answer to Seguin, as the talented forward who went fifth overall in this year's draft after putting up 36-24-60 totals in 65 games with the WHL's Portland Winterhawks.
There's also defenseman Calvin de Haan, the 12th overall pick of the 2009 draft, and enigmatic Russian forward Kirill Kabonov, who slid to the third round of the 2010 draft after a series of on- and off-ice issues. There's no denying his talent, just whether he'll ever fully harness it.
From the college ranks, the Islanders will have University of North Dakota product David Toews, the brother of Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Toews of the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks, and Rhett Rakhshani, Colborne's former linemate at the University of Denver.
Colborne is eager to take on his old teammate, and maybe even drop his gloves with him in this one. And he's not the only Bruin with connections to some of the Islanders' hopefuls playing in these rookie games, as Sequin, Knight and Button also have crossed paths with some of the New York rookies.
12:50 p.m.: The pre-game skate has wrapped up at the Garden as the Bruins rookies prepare for their first game against their Islanders counterparts.
Providence coach Rob Murray, who has run the rookie game sessions and will be behind the bench for Bruins for the rookie games, announced a few lineup decisions after the skate.
It hasn't been decided how the netminding duties will be split up with three goalies available for two games, but Adam Courchaine will get the start in the first game.
Defenseman Alain Goulet, who played last season in Providence, will be the scratch on defense tonight. Murray stated that "Goulet won't be playing because we want to take a look at the younger guys. Goulet's got a year under his belt where we've seen him play at the American League level, so it's more important to see the rest of the guys."
There will also have to be two scratches up front, but those decisions haven't been made yet. Murray said he would consult general manager Peter Chiarelli and assistant GM Don Sweeney before finalizing the lineup.
In the morning skate, the lines were the same as this week's rookie camp practices:
Jamie Arniel-Tyler Seguin-Jared Knight
Lane MacDermid-Joe Colborne-Jordan Caron
Tyler Randell-Ryan Spooner-Max Sauve
Walker Wintoneak-Craig Cunningham-Antoine Roussel
Yannick Riendeau and Joe Plekaitis were the extra wingers and rotated with several different centers between them, including Sauve and Arniel.
On defense, the pairings were in flux with all seven defensemen skating. Steven Kampfer and Matt Bartkowski skated together the most, with Ryan Donald, Yury Alexandrov, Ryan Button, Matt Delahey and Goulet mixing and matching on the other pairs.
In addition to Courchaine, Micheal Hutchinson and Matt Dalton will be available for goaltending duties in the two rookie games.
8 a.m.: Hockey is finally back at the Garden.
It's been a long four months since the ice was last used in this building, and while last spring's playoffs ended in disappointment, optimism will reign supreme as the Bruins prospects take center stage in the first of two rookie games against the New York Islanders on Wednesday night.
Bruins fans will get their first look at Tyler Seguin in game action in a Bruins sweater, but the No. 2 overall pick from this year's draft is far from the only Bruin prospect to keep an eye on in this one. Fellow first-rounders Joe Colborne (16th overall in 2008) and Jordan Caron (25th overall in 2009) will also be making their Boston debuts. Colborne is participating in his first training camp after leaving the University of Denver following his sophomore year, while Caron was unable to participate in last year's camp after suffering a broken collarbone in Team Canada's World Juniors evaluation camp last summer.
Bruins fans and management will also get a look at top defensive prospects Yury Alexandrov and Ryan Button, along with talented forwards Jared Knight, Ryan Spooner and Max Sauve, among others.
Check back throughout the day for updates on the lineup for both clubs after the morning skate and complete analysis of the action throughout the game, which is scheduled for a 7 p.m. opening face-off.
